From Foundation to the First World War
Arsenal Football Club began life when a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory decided to form a football team in late 1886. The Club played under the name of Dial Square. Their first match was a 6-0 victory over Eastern Wanderers, on December 11, 1886. Soon after, the name Royal Arsenal was adopted and the Club continued playing in friendlies and local cup competitions for the next few years.
In 1891 the Club turned professional and changed its name to Woolwich Arsenal, finally joining the Football League in 1893. The Gunners moved to Highbury in 1913, as a Second Division side. Following the First World War Arsenal were voted into the newly expanded First Division, where they have remained ever since. Chapman and the Glorious Thirties
Herbert Chapman took over at Arsenal in 1925, and in 1930 he guided the Gunners to their first ever trophy — beating Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup Final. The following season Arsenal were champions for the first time. Between 1933 and 1935 the Club won a hattrick of league titles (which has only been achieved by four teams in the top flight). Sadly Chapman died in the middle of the run, by which time he had reached legend status.
George Allison took over and the dominance continued for the rest of the decade, winning one more FA Cup (1936) and another title (1938). During this time Arsenal had some of the game’s greatest players on its books: Alex James, Ted Drake, Cliff Bastin, David Jack, Eddie Hapgood and George Male were just some of the names in what was one of the greatest sides ever to play in the Football League. Post-War to the First Double The Second World War stopped Arsenal in their tracks but Tom Whittaker became manager and more success followed. Arsenal were Champions in 1947/48 and 1952/53; FA Cup winners in 1950 and runners-up in 1952. The ‘60s provided little in the way of silverware at Highbury, with two losing appearances in the League Cup Final in 1968 and 1969 being the closest thing to success. Bertie Mee had taken over in the mid-Sixties and Arsenal lifted their first ever European trophy in 1969/70, beating Anderlecht 4-3 over the two legged Fairs Cup Final.
Better was to follow the following season. An Arsenal side containing the likes of Charlie George, George Armstrong, Ray Kennedy and captain Frank McLintock, won the league and FA Cup ‘double’. They clinched the title at White Hart Lane, then beat Liverpool after extra time at Wembley to win the Cup. The side returned to Wembley for three consecutive FA Cup Finals under Terry Neill at the end of the decade — winning the second of them, 3-2 against Manchester United. The game became known as the ‘Five Minute Final’. The Gunners also reached the 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup Final, with a team that included Graham Rix, Frank Stapleton, Pat Rice, David O’Leary and Liam Brady, but lost on penalties to Valencia. George Graham's Honours
In 1986 George Graham, a member of the 1971 ‘double’ winning team, took over as manager from Don Howe and more glory days followed. He led Arsenal to their first ever League Cup triumph in 1986/87, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the Final. Two years later the Gunners won the League Championship, with a famous last minute goal from Michael Thomas clinching the title with a 2-0 win at Anfield. Another title followed in 1990/91, when the side, including the famous defensive back four, lost just one league game.
More silverware followed. In 1992/93 Arsenal became the first club to win both domestic cups in the same season. Sheffield Wednesday were the beaten side on both occasions. Graham’s era of success was rounded off the following season. A superb run in the European Cup Winners’ Cup ended with a memorable 1-0 win over Parma in the Final in Copenhagen, thanks to Alan Smith’s strike. Arsenal failed to retain the trophy the following season, losing in the 1995 final to Real Zaragoza. By this time George Graham had left the Club. He was succeeded by Bruce Rioch, who was in charge for one season, during which time he signed Dennis Bergkamp. The Arsène Wenger Era
In 1997/98, Wenger’s first full season at Highbury, Arsenal achieved, for the second time in the Club’s history, the League and FA Cup ‘double’ enabling the Frenchman to pick up the Carling Manager of the Year Award. Dennis Bergkamp was also named Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Player of the Year and PFA Player of the Year. A tremendous season was rounded off perfectly for French Internationals Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira as the Gunners stars played their part in France’s victorious World Cup campaign.
Three consecutive league runners-up medals followed and in 2000 Arsenal appeared in the UEFA Cup Final where they lost on penalties. In 2001 the Club reached the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League before being knocked out by Valencia. 2001/02 however saw a reversal of fortunes as the Club recorded their third ‘double’ by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup and ending their league campaign with a 13-game unbeaten run and a memorable 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arsenal remained unbeaten at home for the whole season. For that, Arsène Wenger was named Barclaycard Manager of the Year while Robert Pires was named Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
The following season Arsenal narrowly missed out on retaining the title but the Gunners became the first English club in more than 20 years to retain the FA Cup with their 1-0 victory over Southampton at Cardiff. Thierry Henry was voted player of the season by both the PFA and the Football Writers’ Association in a term which saw him join Dennis Bergkamp in the hallowed 100 Club having scored a century of goals for Arsenal. Season 2003/2004 saw Arsenal win back the title in unbeatable fashion managing to go though the entire league season without a single defeat. Finishing 11 points ahead of second-place Chelsea, Arsenal smashed several records on the way to their 13th league title win. Spanish youngster Cesc Fabregas arrived in January and by the end of the season had broken the record for the youngest Arsenal appearance aged 16 years and 177 days.
A Semi-Final defeat in the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League by Chelsea ended any hope of a remarkable treble. The unbeaten league run continued the following season and in August 2004 Arsenal overtook Nottingham Forest’s record for the longest all-time unbeaten sequence in English league football. The Gunners made it five trophies in four seasons by winning the FA Cup in a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United.
The 2005/06 campaign was the Club’s last at Highbury and the Final Salute celebrations proved to be a fitting goodbye to the Club’s home of 93 years. Fourth place in the league — and Champions League football — was secured on the last day of the season with a 4-2 win over Wigan Athletic (coupled with Tottenham’s loss at West Ham United). Arsenal’s alltime record at Highbury reads as follows: Played 2,010; Won 1,196; Drawn 475; Lost 339; Goals Scored 4,038; Goals Conceded 1,955.
The highlight of the season was the Club’s amazing journey to the 2005/06 Champions League Final in Paris. A 12- game unbeaten run, including a new competition record for the most amount of consecutive clean sheets (10 in all), saw Arsenal line-up against Barcelona in the Final on May 17 at the Stade de France. Despite having Jens Lehmann sent-off after just 18 minutes, the Gunners scored first through Sol Campbell before, in the second-half, the Spaniards scored two late goals to break the hearts of the travelling Arsenal support. Into Emirates Stadium
As the Club prepared itself for the move to Emirates Stadium, Gunners captain and record goalscorer, Thierry Henry committed his future to Arsenal before going on to help France reach the World Cup Final in Germany in the summer of 2006. In July, 2006 the Club left Highbury, their stadium of 93 years, and moved to their new home. Ajax provided the opposition in Dennis Bergkamp’s Testimonial as the legendary striker played his last game for the Club in the first ever match at Emirates Stadium.
The club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club's shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered The Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2,500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.[15[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-north_road-14|]]]
Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries.[16[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-15|]]] Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman.[17[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-16|]]] It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?"[18[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-17|]]] The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United. Ernest Mangnall was appointed as club secretary after James West had resigned as manager on 28 September 1902. Mangnall was charged with trying to get the club into the First Division, and fell just short of that target at the first attempt, finishing in fifth in Division Two. Mangnall decided that it was necessary to bring in some fresh faces to the club, and signed players such as Harry Moger in goal, Dick Duckworth at half-back and John Picken up front, but it was another new half-back by the name of Charlie Roberts who made the biggest impact. He cost the club a then-record £750 from Grimsby Town in April 1904, and helped them to a third place finish in the 1903–04 season, just a point short of the second promotion place.
It was not long, however, before the club was at last promoted to the First Division for the first time under their new name, finishing in second place in the 1905–06 Second Division. A season of consolidation followed, with the club finishing in eighth, before they finally won their first league title in 1908. Manchester City had recently been under investigation for paying some of their players a salary over the amount allowed by FA regulations. They were fined £250 and eighteen of their players were banned from playing for them ever again. United were quick to pounce on the situation, picking up Billy Meredith (the Welsh Wizard) and Sandy Turnbull, amongst others. The new boys from across town were ineligible to play until New Year's Day 1907, due to their suspension, so it was left until the 1907–08 season for them to make a proper impact on United's bid for the title. And that they did, getting the campaign off to a storming start, with a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United, beginning a run of ten consecutive victories. Despite a shaky end to the season, United managed to hang on and finished the season nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa.
The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware, the first ever Charity Shield,[19[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-18|]]] and ended with another, the club's first FA Cup title, sowing the seeds for what has become a record number of FA Cup titles. Just as they were in the club's first title-winning campaign, Turnbull and Meredith were instrumental in this season, Turnbull scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final. The club had to wait another two years before winning any more silverware, winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910–11 season. In the meantime, United moved to their new ground at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool, but lost 4–3 having thrown away a 3–0 lead. They then went trophyless again in the 1911–12 season, which not only proved to be the last with Mangnall in charge (he moved to Manchester City after ten years with United), but also the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years, the longest they have gone without winning the league in their history.
For the next ten years, the club went into a state of gradual decline before being relegated back down to Division Two in 1922. They were promoted again in 1925, but struggled to get into the top half of the table, and were relegated again in 1931. In the eight years leading up to the Second World War, the club became somewhat of a yo-yo club, reaching their all-time lowest position of 20th in Division Two in 1934. They were promoted and relegated once again before being promoted in the penultimate season before the Second World War. They guaranteed their place in the top flight for after the war by finishing in 14th in the 1938–39 season.
Reference "http://www.arsenal.com/history/club-history"
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C."
Club History
From Foundation to the First World WarArsenal Football Club began life when a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory decided to form a football team in late 1886. The Club played under the name of Dial Square. Their first match was a 6-0 victory over Eastern Wanderers, on December 11, 1886. Soon after, the name Royal Arsenal was adopted and the Club continued playing in friendlies and local cup competitions for the next few years.
In 1891 the Club turned professional and changed its name to Woolwich Arsenal, finally joining the Football League in 1893. The Gunners moved to Highbury in 1913, as a Second Division side. Following the First World War Arsenal were voted into the newly expanded First Division, where they have remained ever since.
Chapman and the Glorious Thirties
Herbert Chapman took over at Arsenal in 1925, and in 1930 he guided the Gunners to their first ever trophy — beating Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup Final. The following season Arsenal were champions for the first time. Between 1933 and 1935 the Club won a hattrick of league titles (which has only been achieved by four teams in the top flight). Sadly Chapman died in the middle of the run, by which time he had reached legend status.
George Allison took over and the dominance continued for the rest of the decade, winning one more FA Cup (1936) and another title (1938). During this time Arsenal had some of the game’s greatest players on its books: Alex James, Ted Drake, Cliff Bastin, David Jack, Eddie Hapgood and George Male were just some of the names in what was one of the greatest sides ever to play in the Football League.
Post-War to the First Double
The Second World War stopped Arsenal in their tracks but Tom Whittaker became manager and more success followed. Arsenal were Champions in 1947/48 and 1952/53; FA Cup winners in 1950 and runners-up in 1952. The ‘60s provided little in the way of silverware at Highbury, with two losing appearances in the League Cup Final in 1968 and 1969 being the closest thing to success. Bertie Mee had taken over in the mid-Sixties and Arsenal lifted their first ever European trophy in 1969/70, beating Anderlecht 4-3 over the two legged Fairs Cup Final.
Better was to follow the following season. An Arsenal side containing the likes of Charlie George, George Armstrong, Ray Kennedy and captain Frank McLintock, won the league and FA Cup ‘double’. They clinched the title at White Hart Lane, then beat Liverpool after extra time at Wembley to win the Cup. The side returned to Wembley for three consecutive FA Cup Finals under Terry Neill at the end of the decade — winning the second of them, 3-2 against Manchester United. The game became known as the ‘Five Minute Final’. The Gunners also reached the 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup Final, with a team that included Graham Rix, Frank Stapleton, Pat Rice, David O’Leary and Liam Brady, but lost on penalties to Valencia.
George Graham's Honours
In 1986 George Graham, a member of the 1971 ‘double’ winning team, took over as manager from Don Howe and more glory days followed. He led Arsenal to their first ever League Cup triumph in 1986/87, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the Final. Two years later the Gunners won the League Championship, with a famous last minute goal from Michael Thomas clinching the title with a 2-0 win at Anfield. Another title followed in 1990/91, when the side, including the famous defensive back four, lost just one league game.
More silverware followed. In 1992/93 Arsenal became the first club to win both domestic cups in the same season. Sheffield Wednesday were the beaten side on both occasions. Graham’s era of success was rounded off the following season. A superb run in the European Cup Winners’ Cup ended with a memorable 1-0 win over Parma in the Final in Copenhagen, thanks to Alan Smith’s strike. Arsenal failed to retain the trophy the following season, losing in the 1995 final to Real Zaragoza. By this time George Graham had left the Club. He was succeeded by Bruce Rioch, who was in charge for one season, during which time he signed Dennis Bergkamp.
The Arsène Wenger Era
In 1997/98, Wenger’s first full season at Highbury, Arsenal achieved, for the second time in the Club’s history, the League and FA Cup ‘double’ enabling the Frenchman to pick up the Carling Manager of the Year Award. Dennis Bergkamp was also named Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Player of the Year and PFA Player of the Year. A tremendous season was rounded off perfectly for French Internationals Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira as the Gunners stars played their part in France’s victorious World Cup campaign.
Three consecutive league runners-up medals followed and in 2000 Arsenal appeared in the UEFA Cup Final where they lost on penalties. In 2001 the Club reached the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League before being knocked out by Valencia. 2001/02 however saw a reversal of fortunes as the Club recorded their third ‘double’ by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup and ending their league campaign with a 13-game unbeaten run and a memorable 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arsenal remained unbeaten at home for the whole season. For that, Arsène Wenger was named Barclaycard Manager of the Year while Robert Pires was named Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
The following season Arsenal narrowly missed out on retaining the title but the Gunners became the first English club in more than 20 years to retain the FA Cup with their 1-0 victory over Southampton at Cardiff. Thierry Henry was voted player of the season by both the PFA and the Football Writers’ Association in a term which saw him join Dennis Bergkamp in the hallowed 100 Club having scored a century of goals for Arsenal. Season 2003/2004 saw Arsenal win back the title in unbeatable fashion managing to go though the entire league season without a single defeat. Finishing 11 points ahead of second-place Chelsea, Arsenal smashed several records on the way to their 13th league title win. Spanish youngster Cesc Fabregas arrived in January and by the end of the season had broken the record for the youngest Arsenal appearance aged 16 years and 177 days.
A Semi-Final defeat in the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League by Chelsea ended any hope of a remarkable treble. The unbeaten league run continued the following season and in August 2004 Arsenal overtook Nottingham Forest’s record for the longest all-time unbeaten sequence in English league football. The Gunners made it five trophies in four seasons by winning the FA Cup in a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United.
The 2005/06 campaign was the Club’s last at Highbury and the Final Salute celebrations proved to be a fitting goodbye to the Club’s home of 93 years. Fourth place in the league — and Champions League football — was secured on the last day of the season with a 4-2 win over Wigan Athletic (coupled with Tottenham’s loss at West Ham United). Arsenal’s alltime record at Highbury reads as follows: Played 2,010; Won 1,196; Drawn 475; Lost 339; Goals Scored 4,038; Goals Conceded 1,955.
The highlight of the season was the Club’s amazing journey to the 2005/06 Champions League Final in Paris. A 12- game unbeaten run, including a new competition record for the most amount of consecutive clean sheets (10 in all), saw Arsenal line-up against Barcelona in the Final on May 17 at the Stade de France. Despite having Jens Lehmann sent-off after just 18 minutes, the Gunners scored first through Sol Campbell before, in the second-half, the Spaniards scored two late goals to break the hearts of the travelling Arsenal support.
Into Emirates Stadium
As the Club prepared itself for the move to Emirates Stadium, Gunners captain and record goalscorer, Thierry Henry committed his future to Arsenal before going on to help France reach the World Cup Final in Germany in the summer of 2006. In July, 2006 the Club left Highbury, their stadium of 93 years, and moved to their new home. Ajax provided the opposition in Dennis Bergkamp’s Testimonial as the legendary striker played his last game for the Club in the first ever match at Emirates Stadium.
The club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club's shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered The Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2,500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.[15[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-north_road-14|]]]
Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries.[16[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-15|]]] Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman.[17[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-16|]]] It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?"[18[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-17|]]] The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.
Ernest Mangnall was appointed as club secretary after James West had resigned as manager on 28 September 1902. Mangnall was charged with trying to get the club into the First Division, and fell just short of that target at the first attempt, finishing in fifth in Division Two. Mangnall decided that it was necessary to bring in some fresh faces to the club, and signed players such as Harry Moger in goal, Dick Duckworth at half-back and John Picken up front, but it was another new half-back by the name of Charlie Roberts who made the biggest impact. He cost the club a then-record £750 from Grimsby Town in April 1904, and helped them to a third place finish in the 1903–04 season, just a point short of the second promotion place.
It was not long, however, before the club was at last promoted to the First Division for the first time under their new name, finishing in second place in the 1905–06 Second Division. A season of consolidation followed, with the club finishing in eighth, before they finally won their first league title in 1908. Manchester City had recently been under investigation for paying some of their players a salary over the amount allowed by FA regulations. They were fined £250 and eighteen of their players were banned from playing for them ever again. United were quick to pounce on the situation, picking up Billy Meredith (the Welsh Wizard) and Sandy Turnbull, amongst others. The new boys from across town were ineligible to play until New Year's Day 1907, due to their suspension, so it was left until the 1907–08 season for them to make a proper impact on United's bid for the title. And that they did, getting the campaign off to a storming start, with a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United, beginning a run of ten consecutive victories. Despite a shaky end to the season, United managed to hang on and finished the season nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa.
The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware, the first ever Charity Shield,[19[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C.#cite_note-18|]]] and ended with another, the club's first FA Cup title, sowing the seeds for what has become a record number of FA Cup titles. Just as they were in the club's first title-winning campaign, Turnbull and Meredith were instrumental in this season, Turnbull scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final. The club had to wait another two years before winning any more silverware, winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910–11 season. In the meantime, United moved to their new ground at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool, but lost 4–3 having thrown away a 3–0 lead. They then went trophyless again in the 1911–12 season, which not only proved to be the last with Mangnall in charge (he moved to Manchester City after ten years with United), but also the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years, the longest they have gone without winning the league in their history.
For the next ten years, the club went into a state of gradual decline before being relegated back down to Division Two in 1922. They were promoted again in 1925, but struggled to get into the top half of the table, and were relegated again in 1931. In the eight years leading up to the Second World War, the club became somewhat of a yo-yo club, reaching their all-time lowest position of 20th in Division Two in 1934. They were promoted and relegated once again before being promoted in the penultimate season before the Second World War. They guaranteed their place in the top flight for after the war by finishing in 14th in the 1938–39 season.
Reference "http://www.arsenal.com/history/club-history"
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C."